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The US Air Force has selected Northrop Grumman to participate in Phase 1 of the Common Tactical Edge Network (CTEN) consortium, an opportunity to leverage digital engineering to build and demonstrate the backbone of a connected battlespace.
The CTEN Phase 1 award was announced after Northrop Grumman successfully demonstrated proven network, communications, and processing solutions to enable Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) by connecting sensors and platforms to distribute data across all domains — similar to Australia’s own AIR 6500 program.
Northrop Grumman connected previously incompatible links and networks using an Open Mission Systems (OMS) compliant radio, Resilient Network Controller, machine learning algorithms, and gateway technology.
Kevin Berkowitz, senior director, network solutions, Northrop Grumman, said, “We provide the connectivity for military platforms, sensors and systems to communicate using open, mission-aware networking solutions.
“The CTEN demonstration and Phase 1 award are two examples of Northrop Grumman’s integrated capabilities that get the right data to the right place at the right time in support of the Department of Defense’s JADC2 vision,” Berkowitz added.
This command and control integration achievement comes off the back of US Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Brown who announced the US Air Force’s new Future Operating Concept, “Accelerate Change or Lose” which prioritises the service’s five core functions: air superiority; global strike; rapid global mobility; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; and command and control.
GEN Brown explained, “Without the integrated capabilities of the United States Air Force, Joint Force opportunities are infrequent, fleeting and costly. Future conflicts will be contested and complex.”
The Air Force Future Operating Concept presents six operational fights that Airmen must win simultaneously and can do so by being empowered to make decisions under a doctrine and culture of mission command.
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